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"Top of Charlotte," a pleasant but recorded voice cah Peri’s phone, and her focus blurred Silas mentioned Charlotte "Hours are four thirty pm to ten am, seven days a week To make a reservation, please leave a callback nu up before the beep Silas had said she’d been on a task Her black eye put it about two days ago--Jack’s and her last mission She wanted to retrace her steps without Opti--without Allen If Opti didn’t know she’d guessed the location of her last task, they wouldn’t look for her there right away Maybe
Peri exhaled, casual as she shoved her phone in a pants pocket, not her purse She was ditching the bag, but the phone she’d keep a while longer Her wallet was already in her back pocket She’d s
Eyes scanning the terminal, she quicklyalone, and at different gates And thanks to the airline crahts into too little space, they’d all be boarding within thirtyon that plane Allen wasn’t her anchor Her anchor was dead A snarky alliance operative naht tell her so everywhere but where she was going
An announceht would preboard in twentyover it She’d left her necklace pen at Allen’s, at his insistence The trip was supposed to be downti idiot
The security guard chatting across froht her head up, and she se, two cups of blessed caffeine in his hands Allen had been a perfect gentle her breakfast when she got up late He ht not be her anchor, but he’d been soo, Peri Half a pump of caramel syrup Just how you like it"
The cup arm in her hand, and she took a careful sip Just how I like it? she thought, deciding that, yes, this was good,her wonder if Bill had found her diary already and was coaching Allen The more comfortable she was, theconvinced it was a story She’d seen Bill’s thread of anger-driven fear last night He needed so froood the original was still somewhere
The three security people were getting uptight about the increasing press of passengers, and Peri unclenched her jahen one of the woe behind her, she headed for the bathroom
Crap Why couldn’t it have been the one with the Dries van Noten coat? "Watch s?" she asked Allen as if they were the best of friends, and he nodded, oblivious "Be right back," she added,a point to set her purse beside hiuard to stand There was no way they were going to let her out of their sight, even to use the facilities
"Sorry," Peri said to the feret almost a pain as she left the jacket and snappy cap beside Allen "I hate plane coe, especially in the civvies she had on, but her Opti-boot-caave her away Peri hoped she wouldn’t follow her in Unless the wo Opti’s security, her self-defense would be lile bloas chancy
Peri’s gut tightened and she swung her arms as she followed the woh, her escort followed her in Peri scanned the corners to find the cao into the first half of the bathrooe the other way She had a few moments to act--that was it
Her side of the bathroorabbed a bunch of brown paper and soaked it into a soggyit to pat her neck and cool herself Finally the wo of the bathrooesture, she flung the wad of paper at the ca sideways throw It hit with a splat and stuck Turning a hundred eighty degrees, she tucked her right leg and pivoted on her left The guard’s eyes widened She reached for her absent gun, and Peri’s right foot connected with her head Crying out, the wo Peri followed her in, grabbing her hair and sla Peri backed up, breathless A soft splat told her the wad of paper had fallen Chances were good that no one would investigate if she could get the wos tucked into the stall in tiuard into an undignified, slu into the adjacent stall Brushing herself off, she shook out her hair and strode boldly out and over to the other side of the bathroom If she was lucky …
She was
"What was that?" the woman said as she primped at the mirror Her coat was off and draped over the raised handle of her rolling bag Her purse was on the tiny shelf
A pair of feet moved in one of the stalls She didn’t have tirabbing her fist with her other hand and swinging her elbow into the side of the wo for the sink as Peri followed it up with a punch to her jaw